'Joint action needed to curb natural calamities'

New Delhi, Apr 1: Natural calamities do not respect any boundaries and wreak havoc without distinguishing between caste, creed or nationality, thereby underpinning the need for evolving a joint strategy by various countries to help assuage its far-reaching implications, experts feel.

They drive home the point that ''developing countries are more vulnerable to such disasters compared to developed countries'' in that the former lack resources, planning and witnesses a plethora of challenges staring them in the face.

South Asian nations, comprising many developing countries, in the recent past, have encountered some of the worst ever calamities which had their fallout not only on one part of Asia but the whole region had to bear the brunt of it. The tsunami tragedy caught in its clutches the whole region while Pakistan earthquake found its echo in many of its neighbouring countries.

The experts, representing several South Asian countries who were here to attend an International Conference on 'Creating a New South Asia', touched upon the myriad facets of these intricate issues relating to the region, exhorting to seek solutions and creating opportunities to address them through the forum.

According to the Executive Director, Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Pakistan Abid Q Suleri, South Asia is the world's poorest region, forming homes of about 500 million people, most of whom are unlettered, denied of basic amenities and primarily depend on natural resources to eke out their livelihood.

''The government's indifference to the deteriorating condition of the people whose basic human rights are neglected, leads to extensive exploitation of natural resources. Poverty coupled with wrong policies of the governments concerned have a direct impact on environment resulting in fast depletion of natural resources which, in turn, creates an environmental imbalance,'' he said.

Dr Suleri pointed out that while the countries spent a huge amount on national security, they turned a blind eye to environmental issues and check its adverse effect on society in particular and the region in general. He bemoaned that the countries were achieving the goal of ''national security at the cost of environmental insecurity.'' Terming the issue a ''regional matter rather than an internal matter,'' he said, ''India and Pakistan spend millions of dollars on its defence. If an effort is made to demilitarise the region and cut down the cost on military exercises and the amount instead utilised in solving people's protracted problems, it would not only result in regional stability but also lessen, to a greater extent, the daunting fear of climatic changes.''

Putting weight behind Dr Suleri's opinion, an environmentalist from Bangladesh Arshad Hameed Abbasi said, ''besides global warming, the deployment of troops in the Siachen region has led to melting of glaciers. The maintenance of the troops in such inhuman terrains necessarily requires incurring of a sizable expenditure.'' Unequivocally calling ''poverty and people-related chores'' the principal reasons behind degradation and global warming, the experts sought ''joining of hands and taking of concrete steps to curb the menace''.

Sarnath Fernando, an activist from Sri Lanka elucidated that ''our prime objective should be to provide food to every citizen and generate such possibilities as may be useful to them. The governments need to encourage farmers' potential and small-scale industries responsive to their needs. ''The need of the hour is to assist people who are rightful dreamers and make multi-pronged developmental strategies to empower them to marshal their efforts and activities to reach their goalpost,'' he opined. The activists gave a clarion call to the nations to take lessons from Mahatma Gandhi's trailblazing ''salt and charkha movements'' and strengthen ''community-based and environment-friendly'' initiatives.

For ages, people in the South Asian countries, especially the Dalits, were denied of land-rights which gave rise to conflicts and creation of yawning gap between the policy makers and the local people. People who assumed power ignored rights of the marginalised and downtrodden and little was done to better their grim condition.

Calling the people's movement in Nandigram and Singur ''remarkable'', Vice President, NGO Federation of Nepal, Netra Timsina asserted,'' Land movements are battles waged against government's wrong policies. Such movements help in securing the long-neglected rights. The pioneering land-rights movement in Nepal compelled the government to bring in the issues of food security and land rights in the interim Constitution that has hitherto been a dream for many''

Noting that industrialisation plays a pivotal role in the development of a country and hence its role cannot be overemphasised, Director, Institute of Economic Growth, India Kanchan Chopra said,'' We, on our part, should accept the industrial structure but the government, on its part, should see to it that green technologies which are less hazardous and people-friendly are made available. New paradigms of revolution should be introduced in which local-level participation should be accorded priority.

''Powers should be decentrialised to local levels as done in the Panchayati Raj system. But alongside financial powers should also be devolved on them in order to make them self-reliant,'' added Ms Chopra.

Though the experts noted that the task is arduous, they underlined the urgency to implement the measures suggested as globalisation was surfacing as a serious threat which, if not given mindful deliberation, could derail the developmental process of the countries in the long run.

Shahed Anam Khan, Editor, Strategic Affairs, the Daily Star, Bangladesh, noted that ''the threat posed by global warming and globalisation was far more grave than terrorism.'' The UN's IPCC's (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) recent report had acknowledged that ''there was considerable evidence to suggest that human activities were responsible for climate changes.'' Putting a full stop on such activities can alone ensure the progress of the countries in the true sense and only only the idea of a new south Asia can be cherished. It calls for wider participation from every forum and their coming together to turn this distant goal into a reality.

UNI